The Wire PM: August 21, 2026

The Wire PM: August 21, 2026

Coldcard told users to replace vulnerable seed phrases after a firmware upgrade

Coinkite released new firmware for Coldcard hardware wallets and urged affected users to create fresh seed phrases before moving funds. The update requires user-supplied entropy through timed keypresses, dice rolls or coin flips, then combines it with randomness from the device. A prior firmware bug reportedly reduced seed strength on some wallets from 128 bits to 40 bits. Galaxy Research put confirmed losses linked to the weakness at 1,778 BTC, worth about $112 million when reported. Installing the update does not repair an existing seed. Users need a newly generated seed and a careful migration, which makes operational security as important as the firmware fix itself. Source: Cointelegraph, published August 21 at 10:13 UTC.

Solana reduced its target slot time from 400 milliseconds to 350 milliseconds

Solana activated the first slot-time reduction since the network launched. The change lowers the target from 400 milliseconds to 350 milliseconds, with three more 50-millisecond steps planned on the path to 200 milliseconds. Average slot time was near 360 milliseconds after activation, according to the network explorer cited by Cointelegraph. Faster slots can shorten confirmation latency, but the staged rollout matters because validators must keep pace without sacrificing reliability. The upgrade is part of Agave 4.2 and follows approval of SIMD-0525 in May. For DeFi users, the immediate benefit is modestly faster feedback; the larger test is whether performance remains stable under load. Source: Cointelegraph, published August 21 at 13:45 UTC.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their biggest inflow since May

Spot Bitcoin funds took in $606.29 million on August 20, their fourth consecutive positive session and largest daily total since May 1. BlackRock's IBIT captured $502.99 million, or roughly 83% of the category's inflow. The move also broadened beyond Bitcoin: Ethereum funds added almost $221 million, while Solana products drew $15 million. Four-day Bitcoin ETF inflows reached about $1.61 billion, but the concentration in one issuer remains notable. Strong flows can deepen market access and liquidity without removing price risk or the custody concentration built into the ETF structure. Source: Decrypt, published August 21 at 16:29 UTC.

Numbers (Updated)

• BTC: $77,449 (+6.7%)
• SOL: $91.78 (+4.8%)
• ETH: $2,440 (+5.3%)

Prices were recorded from CoinGecko at 21:04 UTC on August 21.

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